Town Sign Project: Ida County

A few Saturdays back I cruised around Ida County with Teresa harvesting their town signs. There aren’t many. Ida County only has 5 towns. Ida County might be best known for the castle buildings in Ida Grove.

Here are some facts about Ida County:

+ Population is 6,901 (2019 estimate) making Ida County the 92 most populous county in Iowa. Below Fremont County and above Pocahontas County.
+ The county seat and largest town is Ida Grove.
+ Ida County was formed on January 15, 1851, but nobody lived there, so there was no government. The county government was formed in 1858 when there were about 40 residents.
+ Named for Ida Smith, the first child of European immigrants born in the region.
+ Major highways ae US-20, US059, IA-3, and IA-175.
+ Adjacent counties are Cherokee, Sac, Crawford, and Woodbury.
+ The population peaked in 1900 at 12,327.

The Ida County Courthouse is a cool old looking courthouse:

The Ida County Courthouse in Ida Grove, Iowa.

The Ida County Freedom Rock is located in Holstein, Iowa:

With Ida County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

30 counties completed. 30.3% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Ida County:

Ida Grove, Iowa
IDA GROVE
OUR LIBERTIES WE PRIZE OUR RIGHTS WE WILL MAINTAIN
Population: 2,142

Holstein, Iowa
Holstein
WILLKOMMEN FREUNDE
Population: 1,396

Battle Creek, Iowa
WELCOME to BATTLE CREEK
Small in size, Big in HEART
Est. 1865
Population: 713

Galva, Iowa
Galva Welcomes You
the friendly town
Population: 434

Arthur, Iowa
WELCOME TO ARTHUR
EST. 1881
Population: 206

I don’t think that there is a bad town sign in Ida County. So rather than giving away the award for worst town sign in the county, I’ll just say that I found Holstein’s sign to be the most disappointing. It isn’t a bad sign, but with a name like Holstein how do you not have a cow on your sign? If you haven’t figured it out yet, I like signs with animals on them.

I do think the best town sign is pretty much a no-brainer. It is Ida Grove. Their town sign is a castle, with the state slogan, bird and flower on it. At first, I have to confess I wasn’t sure it was “the” town sign. But after examining it and thinking on it, it clearly is the town sign.

Ida Grove – Best in Show – Ida County

A couple towns did have alternate signs: